Japan is one of the countries that are well known for quality. It is among the greatest industrial nations of the world. There are many expatriates living in the country who send money out of the country and money is also transferred for business purposes. Other than the leading money transfer services like Western Union and MoneyGram, there are few local money transfer services like the one offered by Seven Bank.

They offer an international money transfer service from Japan, but for receiving funds, they direct customers to Western Union. To send money, one needs to have an account with Seven Bank and apply for international money transfer, before depositing money. Money transfer can be requested through internet or over the mobile phone or through a Seven Bank ATM.

Money can be transferred to almost every country of the world, however, before going forward, one is advised to refer to the list of supported countries. Charges are quite high compared to other services. For instance, sending $100 to the United States costs JPY 1500, apart from the exchange rate difference. The fee can be calculated here, but the supported countries should be referred to first.

There is a limit for transfer of money, which is 1 million JPY in one transaction or in one day or in one month. Annual limit is 3 million JPY. Having said this, some countries may have lesser limits. Western Union locations may set different limits for receiving.

In my last article, I had discussed about a money remittance service offered by Shinsei Bank called GoRemit. The bank has another money remittance service for international money transfer, which is called PowerFlex. Like GoRemit, this service also offers remittance is 12 different currencies, but different. Both differ by the way they work and who can use the service.

Unlike GoRemit, PowerFlex can not be used by any Shinsei Bank customer who registers for GoRemit. PowerFlex is available to customers who have a PowerFlex account with the bank, which is a bank account with special features including zero ATM fee, zero fund transfer fee for one transfer per month, handling fees waived for one domestic banks transfers a month to accounts at other banks over the Internet and so on.

PowerFlex Account Welcome Kit

With PowerFlex, the account holder can register only one recipient and can not send money to anyone else with this service. Registration can be done in person by visiting a branch or by phone. Remittances also have to be initiated at the branch or by phone if the recipient is pre-registered. The funds are processed on the next working day after confirmation of availability of sufficient funds.

The fee charged is ¥4000 for every transaction after the first one, which is free of cost. This is unlike GoRemit, which has a ¥2000 fee for every remittance. However, fees charged by intermediary banks and beneficiary banks may still apply. Customers can also get a better exchange rate, depending on their level with the bank.

PowerFlex is best for individuals sending money to their families. They usually send money once every month, which makes this service ideal for them. This is true if they send it to one person only. It is expensive for sending more than once in a month, but for the fact that the first transaction is free, senders can save some money. In order to apply for a PowerFlex account at Shinsei Bank, residents of Japan can use this form.

Japan is well known in the world for quality electronics. It is also home to expatriates from many parts of the world, perhaps over 2 million in number. They have an excellent remittance service that allows residents to send money to over 177 countries in 12 currencies. It is called GoRemit; the service is operated by Shinsei Bank which is one of the largest Japanese banks.

To send money, remitters need to register with GoRemit, after which they are given a B-Link number which is used for sending money. Once registered, remitters can use any ATM (of any bank) to transfer money to Shinsei Bank from a Japanese domestic bank. They can also do this via internet banking. Once instructions to transfer are given and money is deposited, GoRemit begins the transfer. A fee of ¥2000 is applicable, which is converted into the currency being paid in (one of the 12 currencies). The funds are sent to the recipient by telegraphic transfer. Recipients need to be pre-registered by the sender on GoRemit’s website.

In addition, intermediary banks and beneficiary banks may also apply charges before clearing the funds. For the sake of transferring money, senders should be familiar with few Japanese terms, which can be known here. The fee for Yen transfers is slightly higher; in addition to the usual ¥2000, 0.1% of the amount is also chargeable, which is minimum ¥1500, so the fee is minimum ¥3500. Remittances in Indian Rupee (INR) have some special conditions including intermediary bank charges of 0.35%, which is minimum INR 350 and maximum INR 5000.

Money can only be sent from Japan, but not received through GoRemit. Additionally, at the time of sending money, users have to be in Japan. The remittance limits are set at ¥300000 per transfer, ¥300000 a month and ¥3600000 a year.

Due to the earthquake, there was a problem in GoRemit’s systems, which was restored successfully by Shinsei Bank. They keep close track of the systems and inform customers about outages due to natural disasters and other local problems, when they occur.

In order to register online, Japanese residents can use this link. And in order to register offline, instructions can be accessed here.